The fertiliser manufacturers are putting up strong resistance to a proposal that calls for allowing the private sector to import urea for bridging the demand-supply gap and breaking the monopoly of domestic producers. In the local market, a 50kg urea bag is available at Rs1,900 compared to Rs1,500 in the international market. The minister of national food security and research, who himself is a farmer, believes that private-sector importers could fill the gap and stabilise the country’s market.